Matthew Casey: The immunity of fame

Wednesday

Oct 28, 2009 at 12:01 AMOct 28, 2009 at 7:44 PM

Last month, acclaimed filmmaker Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland on a warrant related to outstanding criminal charges in the United States. Today, Polanski awaits the result of an upcoming extradition hearing that could return him to the U.S. — and prison.

Matthew Casey

Last month, acclaimed filmmaker Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland on a warrant related to outstanding criminal charges in the United States. Today, Polanski awaits the result of an upcoming extradition hearing that could return him to the U.S. — and prison.

While Polanski achieved fame for directing “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Chinatown,” “Tess and The Pianist,” he achieved infamy for pleading guilty to rape more than 30 years ago in Los Angeles.

In early 1977, Polanski reportedly told actress Susan Gailey that he was on assignment for the Paris fashion magazine Vogue Hommes. He asked Gailey for permission to photograph her daughter Samantha. She agreed.

According to Samantha’s subsequent testimony, Polanski gave her champagne and Quaaludes during the photo shoot. After she became intoxicated, he asked her to pose topless and sexually assaulted her. When Polanski became concerned that she might become pregnant, he sodomized her.

At the time of the incident, Polanski was 43. Samantha Gailey was 13.

It took a grand jury just 23 minutes to indict Polanski on six counts, including rape by use of drugs and committing a lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14. Polanski eventually pleaded guilty to statutory rape.

Polanski was ordered to undergo a 90-day psychiatric evaluation, but was released after 42 days. The presiding judge reportedly intended to require Polanski to serve the remaining 48 days of his 90-day evaluation before offering him a choice between voluntary deportation or a prison term.

Upon hearing the news, Polanski immediately fled to Europe.

A year later, Polanski rationalized his actions by claiming in an interview that “everyone wants to (expletive) young girls!” While he cannot speak for “everyone,” there is certainly no doubt about his personal preference: at the time of the interview, he was involved in a relationship with actress Nastassja Kinski that had begun when she was just 15.

Polanski’s status as a fugitive from justice did little to hamper his reputation as a filmmaker. Since fleeing the United States, his films have won six Academy Awards. Actors beg to work with him. In 2007, France awarded Polanski the Legion of Honor, its highest civilian honor.

For more than 30 years, Polanski avoided traveling to countries that might extradite him to the United States to face sentencing for his conviction. Over the years, several attempts where made to arrest him, but none were successful.

Until now.

On Sept. 26, Polanski was arrested by Swiss authorities while on his way to pick up a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival. The United States filed a formal request for extradition on Oct. 22.

The capture of a notorious pedophile drew a curious response in some corners. Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein claimed that Polanski’s arrest is “a shocking way to treat such a man” for a “so-called crime.” Actor Peter Fonda called the arrest “a waste.”

More than 100 actors, directors and producers signed a petition calling for Polanski’s release. The petition dismissively describes the rape as a “case of morals.” Signatories include Martin Scorcese, Adrien Brody, Penelope Cruz, Jonathan Demme, David Lynch and Woody Allen.

Actress Debra Winger, president of the Zurich Film Festival jury, criticized the “philistine nature” of Polanski’s arrest, and said his legal problems stem from “a three decade old case that is all but dead, except for a minor technicality.”

In this case, the “minor technicality” is that Polanski escaped before he could be sentenced for the crime of raping a child.

Polanski’s victim, now in her mid-40s, wants the entire affair to end, even it if means releasing Polanski. Who can blame her? Every time he receives an Oscar in absentia or rearranges his travel plans, she’s reminded of what happened.

However, the passage of time cannot diminish the fact that Polanski is an admitted rapist and fugitive from justice. Rewarding him for successfully evading capture for so long only compounds the problem by undermining the rule of law.

Our overwhelming demand to be entertained has created a sliding scale of morality in which fame and power mitigates even most heinous of behavior. Sports stars, musicians and celebrities are allowed — and sometimes encouraged — to act as they please as long as they continue to perform.

Polanski’s hypocritical brethren in the movie industry seem to believe that one’s criminal culpability is directly proportionate to their degree of power, wealth and artistic achievement. Indeed, if Polanski’s claim to fame was directing “Weekend and Bernie’s 2,” we can assume he would have served his time without protest long ago.

The film industry reaps billions by packaging escapist entertainment and fantasy for profit, and Polanski is a hero in the realm of make-believe. In the real world, he’s a rapist. Soon, he will finally face the consequences of his actions.